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RIP

Sometimes, when RA is reasonably well-managed, we forget that rheumatoid arthritis can be deadly. It’s a systemic disease. It can affect far more than joints. Systemic diseases can affect the entire system: heart, kidneys, liver, vision, hearing…

We knew that RA Superbitch’s disease was not controlled. It is with extreme sadness that we heard she has lost her fight at such a young age.

You can read the archives of her blog, or leave a message on her Facebook page.

If you read old material about RA, you’ll discover that RA tends to shorten expected lifespan by ten years. I can assure you that I was NOT happy to hear that shortly after I was diagnosed. Such drastic news did help to motivate me to make sure I take my meds as prescribed. Now the belief is that with the newer medications, people who are diagnosed and get early, aggressive treatment will do better. The hope is that our lifespan won’t be affected by RA, but it’s just too soon for there to be enough data to know.

Early, aggressive treatment. Lifestyle to live as well as possible. Treasure every day.

A note on the mortality gap: there are studies that indicate that the biologics have a positive impact on cardiovascular health, decreasing the incidence of heart attacks (with strokes, the primary causes of lowered life expectancy in RA). Also, it’s a good idea to initiate preventative care like stress tests, etc., earlier than “regular” people to catch any potential problems. Poor preventative care is also thought to contribute – I guess regular healthcare tends to get lost in all that needs doing with RA.

Hmmm… Do you know more about the strokes? I vaguely recall hearing that stopping prednisone abruptly instead of tapering can cause strokes, but never followed up to find confirmation in any studies. If so, I’d wonder if RA is an increased risk factor for strokes, or if it’s been a matter of people forgetting a dose or two.

It’s easy to neglect “routine” checkups. I didn’t understand that when I first heard it, but now it makes sense. When I already have doctor’s appointments every month, it’s hard to see the need for an extra appointment. It’s important, though. Thanks for the reminder.

I still cannot get this off my mind. I wish we knew more, though I respect whatever the family’s decision is about sharing information. She often put things just the way I wanted to but couldn’t. Bless her husband and son.
Sherry

The family has posted that SB died from an infection that she got after surgery. The surgery was not related to her RA. She leves us with one final reminder to be very careful with any infection while on the meds we all take. She was not feeling well and went in to take a nap. She died in her sleep.
She will be greatly missed by all that knew her through her blog.

I think it is important to remember that the medications not only make people vulnerable to infection but they also are hard on the body in general. SB is the second person I know who died due to surgical complications. The second woman had a heart attack during surgery and the attack was thought to be related to her RA and her meds.
We all need to be very mindful of these things. Not let them scare away from doing all that is necessary to try and wrangle our disease into submission but to be vigilant as we deal with health issues.